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2001 AU Tip-Off Classic Preview
Eagles Host Marshall, South Carolina State and Southern

The American women's basketball opens its 2001-02 season on Nov. 16 &
17 by hosting the AU Tip-Off Classic at Bender Arena . In the first game of
the tournament, South Carolina State takes on Southern in a 5:00 p.m.
matchup. The Eagles then make their regular season debut against Marshall
at 7:00 p.m. to wrap up the first day of competition.

The consolation game will be played the following day at 6:00 p.m.
with the championship game to follow. The tournament trophies and
all-tournament performers will be announced immediately following the
championship game.

Game 1
Game 2
Coaches
Teams
Bracket

GAME 1

SOUTH CAROLINA STATE (0-0) vs.SOUTHERN (0-0)
The Lady Bulldogs of South Carolina State Univerisity and the Jaguars of Southern Univerisity open their 2001-02 seasons in the first game of the AU Tip-Off Classic. South Carolina State is coming off an 18-11 season and a second place finish in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) with a mark of 12-6. Southern comes to Bender Arena after a 19-10 2000-01 campaign under first-year head coach Sandra Pugh.

GAME 2
MARSHALL (0-0) at AMERICAN (0-0)
The Eagles open their 2001-02 season against Marshall in the second game of the AU Tip-Off Classic. American is coming off a 4-23 outing last season in its final year of competition in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). Last season was Head Coach Shann Hart’s first at the reins of the Eagle program. Marshall comes to Bender Arena with a new Head Coach Royce Chadwick after completing a 10-18 campaign last season.

THE COACHES

AMERICAN COACH SHANN HART:
Shann Hart enters her second year at American after a 4-23 inaugural campaign with the Eagles. Prior to her arrival at AU, Hart spent four years as the head coach at St. Mary’s College where she led the team to three consecutive NCAA Division III Tournaments and amassed a record of 77-18. Hart celebrated her first win at American on Nov. 29 in overtime against Navy and helped guide the Eagles to the best free throw percentage in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). With the move to the Patriot League this season, Hart hopes to make a name for this Eagles’ squad as a force to be reckoned with.

MARSHALL COACH ROYCE CHADWICK:
Marshall head coach Royce Chadwick is entering his first year with the Thundering Herd after a seven-year stint at Stephen F. Austin. His teams at SFA went to the NCAA tournament each of those seven years, including a Sweet 16 appearance in 1996, and amassed a record of 173-43 in Chadwick’s time at the helm. He inherits a Marshall program that has gone 30-81 since the 1997-98 season.

SOUTH CAROLINA STATE COACH KEISHA CAMPBELL:
Keisha Campbell begins her fifth year with as the Lady Bulldogs, amassing a four-year mark of 36-74 within the the program. Last season was a turning point, however, as the team went 18-11 and earned a second place finish in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). Campbell was named the MEAC Coach of the Year for her efforts and four of her Lady Bulldogs were given all-conference honors.

SOUTHERN COACH SANDRA PUGH:
Southern head coach Sandra Pugh tips off her second year with the Jaguars after a 19-10 inaugural season with the program. Before heading to Southern, Pugh amassed a record of 76-19 at Meridian Community College and led the team to the 1998 national championship. She also assisted the University of Louisiana at Monroe to the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) while serving as an assistant coach from 1990 to 1995.

THE TEAMS

Senior co-captain Danielle Johnson

AMERICAN NOTES:
• The Eagles open their 2001-02 season against Marshall in the second game of the AU Tip-Off Classic
• The team lost to future Patriot League foe Holy Cross in the tournament championship game last season
• American is coming off a 4-23 outing last season in its final year of competition in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA)
• Last season was also Head Coach Shann Hart’s first at the reins of the Eagle program
• In its inaugural season in the Patriot League, American was picked to finish fourth in the preseason poll of league coaches and sports information directors
• The Eagles competed in two exhibition games in preparation for the season, defeating the M.I. Express, 82-61, on Nov. 4, cruising past the N.Y. Gazelles, 89-62, on Nov. 11
• Senior co-captain Hollie Steinman returns for American in fourth place on the all-time blocks list and was a Preseason All-Patriot League selection
• Co-captain and classmate Danielle Johnson returns as the Eagles’ leading scorer from last season
• Johnson was also the only player to start every game in the 2000-01 campaign
• Junior Maria Werries and sophomore Kaitlin Schuyler also return from last season’s team, both of whom saw considerable time in the starting lineup

Senior guard Melissa Arnold

MARSHALL NOTES:
• Marshall Head Coach Royce Chadwick is beginning his first year with the Thundering Herd after a seven-year stint at Stephen F. Austin, where he compiled a record of 173-43
• Chadwick’s teams at SFA went to the NCAA Tournament each of those years, including a Sweet 16 appearance in 1996
• The new coach inherits a Marshall program that has gone 30-81 since the 1997-98 season
• The Thundering Herd is coming off a 10-18 campaign last season in which the squad went 4-12 in the Mid-American Conference for a sixth place finish
• Au’Yana Ferguson returns to the frontcourt for the Herd after averaging 7.8 points and 7.0 boards in 16 games last season
• Senior guard Melissa Arnold is the only returning starter to Marshall’s backcourt
• Arnold averaged 5.6 points and 3.4 assists per game last season
• Amy Reed returns to provide a big body in the paint for the Herd
• Reed averaged 10.4 points and five rebounds in 22 games last season
• Sophomore Catie Knable is the only returning member of last year’s starting frontcourt
• Knable averaged 8.5 points and 6.6 rebounds per game

Leading scorer Tasha Stinson

SOUTH CAROLINA STATE NOTES:
The Lady Bulldogs of South Carolina State University come to Bender Arena under fifth-year head coach Kechia Campbell
• The team is coming off an 18-11 overall record last season and a 12-6 mark, and second place finish, in the Mid Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC)
• The team’s turnaround last season from a 5-23 squad in 1999-2000 earned the program the NCAA Division I Most Improved Award
• Campbell’s four-year record at South Carolina State stands at 36-74
• The Lady Bulldogs welcome back seven letterwinners, including four starters, from last season’s squad
• Tasha Stinson returns as the team’s leading scorer with 17.5 ppg last season
• Stinson also led the team in free throw percentage with a mark of .790
• Nicole Rhem is the team’s top returning rebounder with 8.6 per game last season along with 14.8 ppg
• Yokia Fuller returns to SC State after averaging 7.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per game last season
• The fourth and final returning starter this season is Joselyn Thomas, who averaged 6.4 points and 7.6 boards per game last year
• The Lady Bulldogs celebrated a seven-game winning streak last season, lost a game to Morgan State, and then went on a five-game tear
• The team ended the 2000-01 season with 72-50 loss to Delaware State in the MEAC Tournament

Southern's Senior guard Jacklyn Winfield

SOUTHERN NOTES:
• The Jaguars come to Bender Arena after a 19-10 campaign last season in which the team finished third in the Southwestern Athletic Conference with a conference mark of 13-5
• Last season was also the first at Southern for head coach Sandra Pugh
• Before heading to Southern, Pugh amassed a record of 76-19 at Meridian Community College
• Senior guard Jacklyn Winfield returns as the Jaguars’ leading scorer from last season with 19.8 points per game to along with 4.5 rebounds and a team-high 3.9 assists per outing
• Junior forward Tremesha Colbert is the team’s top returning rebounder with an 8.2 per game average last season
• Colbert also averaged 11.1 points per game
• Senior Tammy Bullock also returns to the Jaguars’ frontcourt where she averaged 9.9 points and 6.2 rebounds per game last season
• Southern traveled to Grambling on Jan. 6, 2001, and upset the Lady Tigers, 80-70, who were on the verge of setting a national record for consecutive wins at home
• The Jaguars celebrated two five-game winning streaks during the course of the 2000-01 season
• Five freshmen have joined the squad in the hopes of playing time this season

TOURNAMENT BRACKET